People in Perthshire and Angus could be without power for a seventh night as work to repair damage caused by Storm Arwen continues.
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) is still trying to restore supplies to around 3,100 rural homes, including 300 in Angus and 200 in Perthshire.
The firm said on Thursday around 1,500 homes had power restored overnight, with 125,000 now restored in total since the storm hit Scotland on Friday.
The homes in Angus affected are mainly in the Lunanhead and Maryton areas, and in Perthshire it is predominantly Aberfeldy and Glenshee customers who were still without power.
‘Extensive and catastrophic damage’
A statement on Thursday afternoon said: “As its teams continue to make good progress restoring the final customers still off supply following the extensive and catastrophic damage caused by Storm Arwen, Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) continues to encourage the remaining customers still affected to take up support with accommodation and meals.
“Around 1,500 customers had their power restored throughout the night, with power now restored to over 125,000 customers in total since the impact of Storm Arwen first began.
“As at 12pm today, including remote, single or small groups of houses, around 3,100 customers currently remain off supply, with Aberdeenshire the main area affected.”
SSEN’s statement added “all available resources have been deployed to carry out repairs and reconnect supplies” with around 1,000 working on the problem.
We are continuing to work closely with local and national resilience partners to help coordinate the community response. As part of this, support continues to be prioritised for the most vulnerable Priority Services Register customers.
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However, “small pockets of customers” in Aberdeenshire will not be reconnected until Saturday, the company has said.
The statement added: “The impact of Storm Arwen is a once in a generation event, resulting in over five times as many faults compared to any previous weather event in the area in the last 20 years.
“SSEN’s network engineers are reporting unprecedented damage to parts of the network in the North East, with over 1,000 instances of damage to network infrastructure.
“Access has been a real challenge throughout the event, from road closures due to fallen trees in the first few days, challenging weather conditions, with engineers having to clear dozens of trees in places just to access damage to the network.”
Since it first deployed its welfare provisions on Sunday, SSEN has served in excess of 20,000 free meals and 40,000 drinks, with one welfare van in Kirriemuir serving over 1,000 meals and 2,000 drinks in just one day.
If any customer is without power and is unable to make alternative arrangements to stay with family or a friend, SSEN will reimburse all reasonable costs for alternative accommodation.
Anyone who may need support in arranging alternative accommodation should call SSEN’s contact centre on 105.
Customers are asked to help keep lines clear by only calling in an emergency and when in genuine need of assistance so that SSEN is able to prioritise support towards customers most in need of help.
